Store's trade in rare leopard bones exposed

An illegal trade in leopard parts for sale in Asian medicinal stores in London has been uncovered by police. The leopard is endangered, with some of its species already thought to be down to just a handful.

The most common product seized is derived from leopard bones and is used to treat arthritis. Last week the Metropolitan Police found 25 packets of medicated plasters made of ground leopard bones in an Asian supermarket in Hackney, east London, which is becoming notorious as a centre for the illegal international trade in endangered animals.

'We only catch a small amount of the trade that is here, but it's part of a trend we have noticed in the last two or three years,' said Andy Fisher, head of wildlife crime at the Met.

'We used to find more tiger than leopard, but now we find more leopard than tiger. It ties in with people we speak to in India who tell us there are increasing levels of leopard poaching.'

Crawford Allen, of Traffic, which campaigns against trade in endangered species, said: 'Many of the species of leopard are very endangered, such as the snow leopard of Tibet. There are only a handful left of the Barbary leopard and the Iranian leopard. They are quite prevalent in Africa, but again species are under threat.

'Alternatives to tiger bone are being sought because of legal restrictions on tigers in China, whereas there aren't the restrictions on leopard. They are less likely to be executed for dealing in leopards, which they would be if it was tigers.'

It is illegal in Britain to sell or buy products in endangered animals, with the maximum penalty a two-year prison sentence or £5,000 fine. But the maximum sentences are hardly ever imposed. Conservation groups have repeatedly claimed that the courts and the Government take too lenient an attitude to wildlife crimes.